


Where to start

by obbets



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Modern AU, do some silly dancing thats all you need, they're dancing to almost by hozier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-08 14:40:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18625306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obbets/pseuds/obbets
Summary: It’s been a trying day. A trying few days. Lyra and Celeste are tired.Sometimes all you have to do is dance.





	Where to start

Celeste’s pencil taps against the paper. They’re lying on the floor of the living room, feet kicked up in the air behind them, cheek resting in their palm as they try to concentrate. It’s hard to keep their mind off... things... and they just keep getting distracted. They’re attempting to read the same question for the sixth time when they hear a sigh from the direction of the sofa behind them. 

They look back over their shoulder to see Lyra stretching her arms above her head, looking as strained as they feel while she tries to work a little bit of tension out of her shoulders. It’s been a trying day. A trying few days. 

Celeste looks back at the question they’ve been trying to understand and realise they have lost their train of thought, _again_. They close their eyes and rub their temples, biting back a frustrated sigh, before stretching their back like a cat, and getting to their feet. 

“I’m gonna make some tea, do you want?” 

“Please, yes.” Lyra closes her eyes and slumps back against the sofa. “I might take a break until you get back.” It looks like she needs it, to be honest. Celeste can relate. 

They bend over and rest their head on their forearms, crossed atop the kitchen counter while they wait for the kettle to boil. Concentrating on their breathing, the soft sound of the bubbles in the kettle, the feeling of the counter beneath their arms, the steadiness of their weight pressing into the balls of their feet. A subtle click announces that the water is done, but it is only a breath or three afterwards that Celeste actually rolls their shoulders back, and opens their eyes, the motions so familiar that their hands work on autopilot. 

From back in the living room, the sound of strings and bass starts up. Lyra must have put the radio on. 

Teaspoon clinking against cups, the steam warming their skin as it drifts upwards, the smell of their favourite herbal tea suffusing the room- it settles them, a little. They carry two cups back through. 

Lyra is lying down on the sofa, now, knees hooked over the arm and feet tapping in the air to the beat of the song playing. Celeste passes her a mug before sitting on the floor in front of the sofa, tipping their head back to rest against her hipbone and closing their eyes. She sips with one hand, the other coming to their hair, fingers scratching through it idly. 

They sit quietly like that together for some time, until the song ends and a familiar melody starts up. Lyra’s fingers tighten a little in their hair, and they feel her sit up and lean over them to place her cup on the coffee table. “I love this song!” She moves her hands down to their jaw and gently tilts it up, so they’re looking at her upside down. “Dance with me?” 

They blink out of the dream they had been in, and take in her expression. A small curve at the corners of her lips, eyes warm but tiredness sapping at them all the same. Dancing sounds nice. They’d love to. “Yeah. Okay.” 

She leans down and kisses their forehead; they close their eyes again briefly before they get up, taking her hands to help her up too, using the momentum to pull her into a twirl. Her hair whips out behind her, catching them in the chest, but they don’t mind at all. 

She hooks an arm around their waist, leading them in a vague approximation of a salsa before Celeste nudges them in another direction, changing it into more of a waltz. 

They break apart, but they don’t stop dancing. Letting themselves feel silly, giving themselves permission to ignore their stress for a little bit. Lyra nearly trips over the edge of the coffee table, but Celeste manages to catch her and turn it into an almost passable dip, grinning at her. 

They feel very smug until they stand on the pencil they had left on the floor, their foot rolling away with it, almost taking them to the ground before Lyra catches them from behind by the shoulders, grinning at them upside down. They grin back. 

It feels good to dance with her like this. It feels good to ignore their problems, to let their heart feel a little light. A rush of affection sweeps through them, and they wrap their arms around her waist, pressing their cheek against hers. Her arms come up loosely as well, hands grabbing onto the material of their shirt. It’s a hug that can loosely be referred to as dancing, if only because the two of them keep rocking and swaying to the rhythm of the song. Even when it fades, it takes a minute or two for them to break apart. 

They regard each other for a minute, smiles still on faces, eyes much brighter than before. Another song starts playing, but it’s not got quite the same feel, melancholy but still hopeful. Healing, sweet, joyful. 

“Shall we put that one on again?”

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

They dance.


End file.
